The whence and whither of marine spatial planning: revisiting the social reconstruction of the marine environment in the UK

Abstract

With the concept of marine spatial planning (MSP) firmly established in the UK with its own legislation, policies and plans underway, this paper critically revisits MSP as part of the wider debate associated with the social reconstruction of the marine environment, as first discussed by Peel and Lloyd’s seminal paper in 2004. We propose that their identified ‘marine problem’ remains and indeed has exacerbated. We ascertain that there has been much change in the governance of the marine environment that has both positively and negatively altered the way that society has (re)constructed solutions to that marine problem. We revisit Hannigan’s (1995) social constructionist framework, showing the degree to which the prerequisites have been satisfied, by providing an overview of how the marine problem has intensified in the preceding 15 years and how the marine problem has now captured the wider public’s attention. We then look at the how the response to the marine problem has evolved by examining at the current marine planning arrangements across the UK. We conclude by stating that the whence of MSP is clear, culminating with the formal introduction of MSP in the UK which has positively altered the way in which the marine environment is socially reconstructed. The whither is much more unclear. With a continually rapidly moving agenda of change, there is much more to be done for us to say that the marine problem has been successfully socially reconstructed.

Media coverage, attention cycles and the governance of plastics pollution

“…Many social media advocacy campaigns additionally offer greater opinions and advice than traditional media on behaviour change, community initiatives, and political activism, including campaigns shaming litter producers and calling for new regulations (Loges & Jakobi, 2020;Ritchie & McElduff, 2020;Zhang & Skoric, 2018). Further social media activities noted include providing vivid imagery and citizen-science While this raises doubts about social media's capacity to promote political or behavioural activism, one of its major contributions has been in magnifying and prolonging debates initiated by traditional media (Li, 2020;Walther et al, 2021).…”

“…Keller and Wyles (2021) argue that simple storylines can raise awareness of plastic products, alter behaviour, and increase pressure to reduce plastics and improve waste management. Conversely, spotlighting a few companies, (often non‐human) victims, and a limited range of recognisable products (plastic bottles, single‐use bags and straws) can detract attention from other products and overarching issues (Loges & Jakobi, 2020; Ritchie & McElduff, L., 2020; Villarrubia‐ Gómez et al, 2018). Focusing on controversies that over‐extrapolate scientific findings (Rist et al, 2018) can equally lead to fragmentary knowledge slanted towards judgements promoted in the media and increase the chances of maladaptive responses focused on marginal issues and symptoms rather than causes (Eagle et al, 2018; Jacquet et al, 2015).…”

A critical turn in marine spatial planning

“…These contributions span a variety of geographies, disciplines and theoretically traditions, and cover a range of topics. Ritchie and McElduff (2020) revisit possibly the earliest critical look at MSP, that of an article by Peel and Lloyd (2004), which explored the extent to which MSP could be considered a socially constructed expression of 'the marine problem' (following Hannigan (1995)). Ritchie and McElduff (2020) consider that, since then, this has become an even more legitimate interpretation of MSP, as marine issues increasingly gain public and institutional attention, and MSP is positioned as a response to these.…”

“…Ritchie and McElduff (2020) revisit possibly the earliest critical look at MSP, that of an article by Peel and Lloyd (2004), which explored the extent to which MSP could be considered a socially constructed expression of 'the marine problem' (following Hannigan (1995)). Ritchie and McElduff (2020) consider that, since then, this has become an even more legitimate interpretation of MSP, as marine issues increasingly gain public and institutional attention, and MSP is positioned as a response to these. However, with particular reference to the UK context, they feel that there is scope for further development of this perspective, with, for example, the need for a stronger institutional sponsor for marine issues.…”

“…While each paper provides a novel contribution to the critical turn in MSP research, some common issues are raised across several papers that could be explored further. For example, Ritchie and McElduff (2020), Ntona and Schröder (2020), and Jay (2020) highlight that 'marine space' is not a neutral concept and that it needs to be understood through the application of constructivist frameworks. Campbell et al (2020), Flannery and McAteer (2020), and Greenhill et al (2020) highlight that MSP is not an apolitical process, but is, rather, a multi-layered power arena in which the socio-political dynamics need to be scrutinized through the application of governance and power theories.…”